My father was in the Merchant Navy and was in
Bari when the [poison] gas ship was hit
(walking down the quayside at the time, in fact).
He was gassed and carried the scars from gas burns
until the day he died.

He told me that injured British personnel were
taken under guard to a hospital and were held in
isolation with an armed guard on the door. They
were later visited by an 'official' who demanded
silence and threatened them. My father was so
intimidated by this that he became very nervous
when in later years I suggested that he write an
account of his experiences.

He was of the opinion that the gas was not
intended 'in case the Germans used it first', but
was in fact intended for first use by the Allies in
order to break the deadlock then prevailing in
Italy.